Replacing your phone system with VOIP is a smart move. Whether you’re operating at an enterprise level, or are a small local business, using the right VOIP system can add a lot of value.
When choosing and replacing VOIP phone systems, you need to make sure the system matches your specific business requirements. Far too many companies make common mistakes when replacing their systems, which can end up becoming pretty big issues further down the line.
To help you bypass these errors, here are eight of the most common VOIP system mistakes to avoid.
VOIP Phone Systems: 8 Mistakes To Avoid
1. Not Properly Assessing Your Business Needs
When businesses take on new VOIP phone systems, they often just want to replace their existing phone system exactly as is. However, communications technology and processes have changed in a big way over the years, and simply turning your business phone systems to VOIP isn’t always relevant.
Instead, you need to run a thorough assessment of your business needs before investing in any kind of commercial VOIP phone system. This could help the business find ways to improve productivity, discover underlying communication issues, and make the new system easier for the business to adopt.
Make sure to go over all business and technical requirements of the VOIP phone systems before simply trying to replace what you’re already using.
2. Avoiding Proper Training
Installing VOIP phone systems for your business is only the first step. The other essential element to achieving success with these phone systems is proper training.
Make sure your VOIP phone systems provider offers in-depth, hands-on training. Ideally, this should be done on-site and not just through pre-recorded videos or online tutorials.
Proper training will help users get the most from the new phone system. It will help everyone understand the full benefits of the VOIP system, which will make the adoption of the system a far easier, smoother process.
3. Not Understanding Infrastructure Issues
This may seem obvious, but it’s one of the most common mistakes in implementing new VOIP phone systems. The data switches that support your IP or SIP phones must support VLANs and QoS. This also needs to be properly configured on the network.
Always make sure your network configuration is properly set up to support your VOIP phone systems. This includes using the right cabling and power sources for the network.
Another common mistake businesses make is skipping a proper network assessment because they assume their network will just support VOIP.
Issues in your network can make a major impact on how the phone systems perform. Properly assessing the network early on will help you implement a better-suited VOIP system, and avoid any expensive and troublesome fixes further down the line.
4. Using The Same Tools For Everyone
VOIP business phone systems come in many different forms. You can get phone tools with all kinds of unique functions and abilities, as well as solutions with a wide range of endpoints. Make sure your business understands these different solutions and the benefits of each one.
Far too many businesses implement VOIP office phone systems on a “one size fits all” basis purely to make implementation easier. While this might seem like a more efficient approach, it could limit some of your users.
This is because many businesses will have a few high-performing members who will benefit from the added functionality of more advanced VOIP phone systems. Take this into consideration, and try to use the best system for each use case, instead of just applying VOIP business phone systems across the board.
5. Not Understanding The Phone Service Features
A common mistake made by many businesses is not understanding the full functionality of their new VOIP systems. This could result in not getting the features the business needs, or not utilizing all of the features available.
Some common features in VOIP phone systems include:
- Automated attendants
- Call holding
- Caller ID
- Call queueing
- Music for calls on hold
- Call whispering
- Call recording
- Call forwarding
- Call monitoring
- Call analytics
And a lot more. This is also where proper training by the service provider can greatly assist.
6. Assuming That All VOIP Phone Systems Are The Same
The idea that all VOIP phone systems are the same is a common misconception. Always understand the key differences in the VOIP services available before replacing your system.
For example, you get hosted VOIP systems, cloud-based VOIP, UCaaS, and CPaaS. Each type of system has its pros and cons, so it’s best to understand how your business VOIP phone systems work before replacing them.
7. Not Thinking Long-Term
Choosing a new VOIP system is a big decision and investment, and it’s a fundamental tool that should last your business a long while. When replacing your phone system, consider your business growth plans and goals. Make sure that the system you choose can scale with your business.
You won’t want to replace your system again as your business starts to grow and new requirements develop.
8. Choose A Reliable VOIP Phone Systems Provider
Possibly the most important consideration in choosing office VOIP phone systems is choosing a reliable provider. Make sure you understand what kind of support and training the provider offers, and how this will benefit your business over the long run.
Research the provider’s past clients, read reviews and testimonials and understand whether they have qualified technicians that can assist your business (and not just salespeople). This will make a big difference in the value you will gain from the VOIP phone system.
Summary
The right VOIP commercial phone systems can add a lot of value to any business. However, making one of the common mistakes when replacing your phone systems could result in all kinds of issues.
To combat this, make sure you understand the ins and outs of your phone system and ensure your new VOIP system meets the specific requirements of your business.
Most importantly, use a reliable VOIP phone systems provider with a solid track record. This will help you get the support, training, and setup that your business really needs – something that will add a great deal of long-term value.
